Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles were Dutch colonies for about three centuries. This all changed in 1954 when under the terms of an new agreement they became self-governing states within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The “Koninkrijksstatuut” is best translated as the “state charter,” the constitution governing the relationship between the states comprising the Dutch Kingdom. (It should not be confused with the laws governing the affairs and actions of the provinces of the Netherlands.) When it was signed in 1954, the parties to the accord were the colonies of Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao. Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Martin. Suriname became an independent nation in 1975 and Aruba attained separate status as a state within the Kingdom in 1986.